Two-Part Inventions for keyboard, BWV 772-786. J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750). You
Can't Get There From Here (2012). Nico Muhly (b. 1981). New York premiere.
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
2013-14 | 25th Anniversary Season
Special Event
Simone Dinnerstein
Thursday, January 23, 8:00 p.m.
Please note that photography and the use of recording devices are not permitted. Remember to turn off all cellular phones and pagers before tonight’s performance begins. Miller Theatre is wheelchair accessible. Large print programs are available upon request. For more information or to arrange accommodations, please call 212-854-7799.
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
2013-14 | 25th Anniversary Season
Special Event
Simone Dinnerstein Thursday, January 23, 8:00 p.m.
Two-Part Inventions for keyboard, BWV 772-786 You Can’t Get There From Here (2012) New York premiere
J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750) Nico Muhly (b. 1981)
INTERMISSION
Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik George Crumb (b. 1929) (Ruminations on ‘Round Midnight by Thelonius Monk) (2001) Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111
Beethoven (1770 - 1827)
This program runs approximately one hour and forty-five minutes including intermission.
About the Program This is a program that explores time and counterpoint. Bach’s 15 Two-Part Inventions are pieces that he wrote in 1723 as a guide for keyboard players. It shows how to play counterpoint, beginning with two voices, one in each hand. The first note played is middle C and from that note on, Bach introduces us to techniques such as one voice imitating the other, or inverting what the other voice just played (essentially playing it upside down), or harmonizing in parallel motion. He shows what types of musical ideas best suit different treatments, how a melody can be broken into fragments and built up again. And in his preface he wrote that one of the most important lessons was for the keyboard player to learn how to play in a cantabile style, which means to make the machine of the keyboard sound like a human voice. How does the keyboard player do this? Amongst many ways, by feeling a physical distance between the notes, the way one feels when one reaches for a note to sing. By feeling the rhythm as being flexible, never fully rooted on the downbeat, but dancing agogically, giving a rhythmic shape as well as a melodic one, the player can achieve a cantabile sound. Nico Muhly based You Can’t Get There From Here on fragments from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, which is a collection of music by early English composers written two generations before Bach. Muhly’s music is very much about motives that are repeated and evolve, changing harmonic shape and rhythmic emphasis. Sometimes the music breaks away from meter entirely, allowing the performer free rein to play with the fragments. Counterpoint is explored in a section Muhly labels a “three-part exercise” midway through the work. In Eine Kleine Mitternachtmusik, George Crumb takes keyboard counterpoint to another level and creates a small ensemble in the piano, requiring the pianist to manipulate multiple lines, each with a different keyboard technique. His use of the “extended” piano opens our ears to sounds that we may not have realized lay dormant in the instrument. There is a repeated rhythmic motive that is played by a mallet striking the crossbars. There are glissandi (like a harp) across the strings, and melodies plucked
by the finger tip and the finger nail. There is even a part for the pianist to shout while playing on the keys, creating harmonics within the piano and playing glissandi on the strings. Additionally, Crumb frequently writes sequences of motivic ideas, much in the same way that Bach did in his Inventions. Beethoven’s last piano sonata returns to Bach in its contrapuntal writing and the chorale-like arietta of the second movement. But the irregularity that is implicit in Bach’s music is in plain view in Beethoven’s. It is music that is moving beyond the constraints of tonality and rhythm. The tempo shifts constantly, eluding easy mathematical certainty, and the pulse of the variations mysteriously expands and contracts. It seems as though the music loses its center, trying to hang on to its Bachian formality but not able to confine itself to the rules of meter and counterpoint.
The sonata ends with strangely beautiful layers of sound created by a continuous trill surrounded by a melody and ostinato. Tonight I hear this as a counterpoint to the entire program – the multiple lines shown to us by Bach, the repetitive ostinato within a three-voice texture reminiscent of Muhly, the eerie trilling and layering reminiscent of Crumb. It spins off into the distance and then manages to find a way home, back to C. Program notes by Simone Dinnerstein
About the Program
About the Artist American pianist Simone Dinnerstein is a searching and inventive artist who is motivated by a desire to find the musical core of every work she approaches. NPR reports, “She compels the listener to follow her in a journey of discovery filled with unscheduled detours . . . She’s actively listening to every note she plays, and the result is a wonderfully expressive interpretation.” The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many “Best of 2007” lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker. The three solo albums Dinnerstein has released since then – The Berlin Concert (Telarc), Bach: A Strange Beauty (Sony), and Something Almost Being Said (Sony) – have also topped the classical charts. Dinnerstein was the bestselling instrumentalist of 2011 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart and was included in NPR’s 100 Favorite Songs of 2011 from all genres. In spring 2013, Simone Dinnerstein and singer-songwriter Tift Merritt released an album together on Sony called Night, a unique collaboration uniting classical, folk, and rock worlds. Other upcoming and recent highlights include Dinnerstein’s debuts in Sydney and Melbourne; her debuts in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus and in Toulouse; the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s You Can’t Get There From Here at Symphony Hall in Boston; her third return engagement at the Berlin Philharmonie; and world premiere performances of Philip Lasser’s The Circle and The Child with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Dinnerstein’s performances have taken her around the world since her triumphant New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in 2005, to venues including the Kennedy Center, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Metropolitan Museum, and Wigmore Hall; festivals including the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen, Verbier, and Ravinia festivals, and the Stuttgart Bach Festival;
and performances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Kristjan Järvi’s Absolute Ensemble, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Symphony. She returns to Miller Theatre after her sucessful 2012 solo recital, Bach and the Romantics. Dinnerstein has played concerts throughout the U.S. for the Piatigorsky Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing classical music to non-traditional venues. She gave the first classical music performance in the Louisiana state prison system when she played at the Avoyelles Correctional Center, and performed at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in a concert organized by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to her community, in 2009 Dinnerstein founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public hosted by New York public schools which raises funds for the schools. Dinnerstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she was a student of Peter Serkin. She also studied with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music and in London with Maria Curcio. Simone Dinnerstein lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son. She is managed by IMG Artists and is a Sony Classical artist. www.simonedinnerstein.com
About the Artist
About Miller Theatre Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and one of the most vital forces nationwide for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, and multimedia performances. Founded in 1988, Miller has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles over the past 25 years, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the United States. A three-time recipient of the ASCAP/ Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller Theatre continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders—to present innovative programs, support the development of new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences. 25th Anniversary Committee Regula Aregger Mercedes I. Armillas Rima Ayas Paul D. Carter Mary Sharp Cronson* Stephanie French* Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Maureen Gupta Karen Hagberg Mark Jackson
Carol Becker Dean of Faculty Jana Hart Wright Dean of Academic Administration
Elke Weber
Esta Stecher Vice Chair Rolando T. Acosta Armen A. Avanessians Lee C. Bollinger President of the University Lisa Carnoy Kenneth Forde Noam Gottesman Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. James Harden Benjamin Horowitz Ann F. Kaplan Jonathan Lavine Charles Li Paul J. Maddon Vikram Pandit Michael B. Rothfeld Claire Shipman Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Faye Wattleton
* Miller Theatre Advisory Board member
Miller Theatre Staff Melissa Smey Executive Director Charlotte Levitt Director of Marketing and Outreach Beth Silvestrini Associate Director of Artistic and Production Administration Brenna St. George Jones Director of Production James Hirschfeld Business Manager Megan Harrold Audience Services Manager Bryan Logan Production Coordinator Nora Sørena Casey Marketing and Communications Associate Rhiannon McClintock Executive Assistant Aleba & Co. Public Relations The Heads of State Graphic Design
Steinway is the official piano of Miller Theatre
Columbia University School of the Arts
Eric Johnson Fred Lerdahl George Lewis Philip V. Mindlin Linda Nochlin Margo Viscusi* Marian M. Warden Cecille Wasserman*
Columbia University Trustees William V. Campbell Co-Chair Jonathan D. Schiller Co-Chair A’Lelia Bundles Vice Chair Mark E. Kingdon Vice Chair
About Miller Theatre
Thanks to Our Donors
Miller Theatre acknowledges with deep appreciation and gratitude the following organizations, individuals, and government agencies whose extraordinary support makes our programming possible. $25,000 and above Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts
Dow Jones Foundation
Ernst Von Siemens Foundation
Gerry H. F. Lenfest National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
The Evelyn Sharp Foundation Margo and Anthony Viscusi
CLC Kramer Foundation Fritz Reiner Center for Contemporary Music at Columbia University
Craig Silverstein
Paul D. Carter Hester Diamond R. H. Rackstraw Downes Claude Ghez Marcella Tarozzi Goldsmith Christine and Thomas Griesa Carol Avery Haber/ Haber Family Charitable Fund
Karen Hagberg and Mark Jackson Donella and David Held Elizabeth and Dean Kehler Roger Lehecka Philip Mindlin Linda Nochlin Jeanine and Roland Plottel Jessie and Charles Price
Peter Pohly Christopher Rothko Cecille Wasserman Elke Weber and Eric Johnson Anonymous
Oliver Allen Regula Aregger Mercedes Armillas ASCAP Rima Ayas Barbara Batcheler Elaine S. Bernstein
Mary and Gordon Gould Mariam M. Warden Fund of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities Maureen Gupta John Kander Mark Kempson and Janet Greenberg Frederick Peters
Mark Ptashne James Sharp Timothy Shepard and Andra Georges J. P. Sullivan Cia Toscanini Kathryn Yatrakis Janet Waterhouse
June O. Goldberg Lauren and Jack Gorman Richard Gray James P. Hanbury Bernard Hoffer Alan Houston and Lisa DeLange Frank Immler and Andrew Tunnick Burton Kassell Rebecca Kennison L. Wilson Kidd, Jr. Nikki Kowalski Daniel Lee Barbara and Kenneth Leish Arthur S. Leonard Stephen Leventis Richard H. Levy and Lorraine Gallard Peter C. Lincoln Helen Little Sarah Lowengard Anthony and Caroline Lukaszewski Lawrence Madison Marc Maltz
Gerald McGee Bannon and Barnabas McHenry Rolf Meyershon Susan Narucki Susan and Sheldon Nash Mary Pinkowitz Carol Robbins Lisa Rubin Mariam Said Eliisa Salmi-Saslaw Mary Salpukas James Schamus and Nancy Kricorian Elliot Schwartz Anita Shapolsky Leila Shakour and Michael Thorne Karlan and Gary Sick Paul Sperry Gilbert Spitzer and Janet Glaser Spitzer Rand Steiger and Rebecca Jo Plant Peter Strauss Jim Strawhorn donors as of Jan. 17
$10,000 - $24,999 William V. Campbell The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Mary Sharp Cronson The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
$5,000 - $9,999 The Amphion Foundation French American Cultural Exchange Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
$1,000 - $4,999
$500 - $999
$100 - $499 Gail and James Addiss Qais Al-Awqati, M.D. Edward Albee Florence Tatischeff Amzallag Roger Bagnall Stephen Blum Jim Boorstein Adam and Eileen Boxer Elizabeth and Ralph Brown Jim Buckley Kerrie Buitrage Richard Carrick and Nomi Levy-Carrick Ginger Chinn Jennifer Choi Gregory Cokorinos Noah Creshevsky Kristine DelFausse David Demnitz Randy Ezratty Peter and Joan Faber Stephanie French Marc Gilman
Bach, Revisited Miller Theatre’s Bach series begins this February with a special anniversary twist: three extraordinary living composers, featured in past Composer Portraits concerts, return to curate a special evening pairing their music with favorite pieces of Bach. “Everyone has a very personal relationship to Johann Sebastian Bach’s music,” says Kaija Saariaho, who will begin the series this February. “That’s the wonderful thing about it.” As part of the celebration of Miller Theatre’s 25th Anniversary Season, Bach, Revisited blends Bach’s universal resonance with the relationships central to Miller’s innovative programming: collaborations with today’s premiere artists. The series is curated by Saariaho, Joan Tower, and Steve Reich: composers who carry on Bach’s legacy as they create powerful music for their time. “We have made Bach, Beethoven, Mozart iconic figures, which they certainly deserve,” says Tower. “But we have also sort of neglected the living composer in the big classical music institutions. This series tries to address that problem.” The concerts provide a bridge between Bach’s inventive compositions—now cannonized as timeless—and the extraordinary contributions of our own era. “Any good music that reveres the past takes the past and reinvents it for its own time,” says Reich. Performances by returning Miller favorites, such as Jennifer Koh and Ensemble Signal, showcase the versatility of these musicians, whose playing transports audiences across the centuries. The dialogue created by these concerts includes an opportunity to hear directly from the composers, who will each join Executive Director Melissa Smey in an on-stage discussion as part of their concert. To hear more from Saariaho, Tower, and Reich about what Bach means to them, as well as the benefits and challenges of presenting original works alongside his, view a video interview online at www.millertheatre.com.
Thursday, February 6, 8 p.m. Saariaho Frises + Bach Partitia in D minor for solo violin, BWV 1004 Jennifer Koh, violin Jean-Baptiste Barriere, electronics This Finnish composer’s international reputation has continued to blossom since her packed 2009 Portrait at Miller. Jennifer Koh—who “gave a stunning, high-energy account of the almost continuous solo line” (The New York Times) of Saariaho’s violin concerto in that performance—returns to play solo works by Bach and Saariaho. Directly inspired by the D minor partita, Saariaho’s Frises draws on Baroque forms (passacaglia, ground bass, chaconne) and stretches the sonic palette of the solo violin with live electronics. Thursday, April 17, 8 p.m. Tower Big Sky, In Memory, and String Quartet #5 “White Water” + Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 Curtis 20/20 Written around 1720, Bach’s Brandenburg concertos remained virtually unknown, tucked away on a library shelf, for more than a century before being published. Today, they number among the crowning achievements of Baroque instrumental writing. For her Bach series program, composer Joan Tower intersperses movements of the fifth concerto—for solo flute, violin, and harpsichord—with her own chamber music, including her trio Big Sky, an evocation of the awe-inspiring experience of riding through the Andes mountain range. Thursday, May 15, 8 p.m. Reich Tehillim + Bach Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4 Ensemble Signal Brad Lubman, director American icon Steve Reich curates a program pairing two powerhouse sacred works for voices and chamber ensemble. A setting of Hebrew psalms, Tehillim is Reich at his transcendent best, by turns meditative and ecstatic. Reich credits Bach’s cantata as an important inspiration, its third-movement duet a model for his own. The thread of taking inspiration from the past extends to the Bach: his cantata was based on a Martin Luther hymn, which was itself an adaptation of a 12th-century Easter tune. Bach, Revisited series season tickets from $68; single tickets $25 - $45.
Bach, Revisited
Upcoming Events Thursday, January 30, 8:00 p.m. S T E V E N S C H I C K : S O LO Part One: Origins Steven Schick, percussion Friday, January 31, 3:00 p.m. S T E V E N S C H I C K : S O LO Conversation: Percussion in the 21st Century Free event with reception to follow Saturday, February 1, 8:00 p.m. S T E V E N S C H I C K : S O LO Part Two: Reponses Steven Schick, percussion Thursday, February 6, 8:00 p.m. BACH, REVISITED Saariaho + Bach Jennifer Koh, violin Jean-Baptiste Barrière, electronics Tuesday, February 11, 6:00 p.m. POP-UP CONCERT Ensemble Signal Saturday, February 22, 8:00 p.m. COMPOSER PORTRAITS Roger Reynolds Irvine Arditti, violin Ensemble Signal Brad Lubman, conductor
www.millertheatre.com • 212-854-7799 www.facebook.com/millertheatre • @millertheatre on Twitter 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, MC 1801, New York, NY 10027
